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Yassin explains this to Justice of the Peace Yvonne Michelle Williams, the presiding judge.
Justice of the Peace Yvonne Michelle Williams is one of the presiding judges at the Travis County Court in Austin.
"So it sounds like you're pleading not guilty," says Williams. Yes, Yassin responds.
Williams gives him a form, which he doesn't stop to read, and he checks the "not guilty" box. He is assigned another court date to appear and prove that his daughter's 23 absences were legitimate.
Outside, he seems relieved. "Do you think you're in the clear?" I ask him. "Yes," he says.
Experts who've studied truancy policies in Texas say it's rare for a parent or student to plead not guilty.
Often, parents just want to get it over and done with, says Deborah Fowler. She's the executive director of Texas Appleseed, a public service law center in Austin. The group has compiled the most comprehensive study of school truancy in Texas.
"We've met kids in court who've never had a disciplinary referral at school," she says. "Students who have chronic health problems who end up in court because a parent may have forgotten to turn in a medical excuse."
Of course, there will always be kids who have no excuse for skipping school. But Fowler says chronic truancy is more complicated than that. The reasons include pregnancy, caring for a relative, drug use, an abusive situation at home — even homelessness.
"The scope of the problem is staggering," she says, and yet adult courts tend to see truant kids as "troublemakers" who just don't belong in school.
According to Texas Appleseed's latest study, over a three-year period ending in 2013, about 6,400 students brought before judges were ordered to withdraw from school, subsequently took the GED exam and failed it.
Eight of 10 of these students were African-American, Latino or in special education. All were eventually counted as dropouts. That has gotten the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice, which has begun an investigation.
Edgar Ramirez, 17, and his mother, Alma, appear before Judge Williams.
State lawmakers, meanwhile, have called for a review of truancy policies. Sen. John Whitmire, a Democrat who is chairman of the Senate's criminal justice committee, wants to decriminalize truancy and require schools to provide a lot more prevention and intervention before students are referred to adult court.
But some school districts are resisting these reforms, says Whitmire: "I just think schools, unfortunately, are callous."
Joy Baskin, the top attorney for the Texas Association of School Boards, disagrees. "I certainly wouldn't use the term callous to describe school administrators," she says.
Baskin defends districts' enforcement of attendance policies and worries that if truancy policies change dramatically, it would send a signal that school attendance is not a priority in Texas.
The state began getting tough on truants in the mid-1990s, when the state decided to transfer truancy cases from juvenile courts to adult criminal courts, which up until then prosecuted mostly traffic citations and petty crime.
Deborah Fowler, of Texas Appleseed, calls these "plea mills" because, she says, they're built for high volume and for making money. She says truancy cases can often lead to families being fined up to $1,500, or facing jail time if they don't pay.
There are judges, however, who are known to go easier on kids and parents. Williams in Travis County is one of them. She's a fierce critic of how adult courts treat students: "It's just pitiful."
She says that too many children who end up in court have serious, undiagnosed or untreated learning disabilities, which is why they miss so much school to begin with.
"I had such a case this morning," Williams says.
It's the case of 17-year-old Edgar Ramirez. He says he hates school. His mother, Alma Ramirez, can't get him to go. So they've both been charged.
Through an interpreter, Williams gives them three options: Plead guilty, not guilty or no contest.
They plead no contest after Williams explains that a no-contest plea means their case will be dismissed in 90 days, as long as Edgar does not miss more school and he does community service. Williams also wants Edgar to get help for his learning disability.
Speaking in Spanish, so his mother can understand, Edgar says he tries to learn but he forgets everything. He says his memory fails him and he needs help. Alma Ramirez says he has been evaluated in school, but the medicine he's taking does nothing for his memory problems. It just makes him moody and aggressive.
She is reluctant to blame the school, because ultimately, she says, it'll be up to Edgar to change his behavior.
"I work in construction and I don't want him to struggle like me," Ramirez says in Spanish.
I ask Edgar if he's going to take his mom's advice. He stares at the floor and mumbles, "Yes, I promise to do better."
It's a promise that his mother says she has heard many times before.
Politics is “a grubby world”, a former DUP Spad has said, prompting the chairman of the RHI Inquiry to marvel at the unpleasant nature of some of the behaviour which is being presented to him.
Timothy Cairns told the inquiry that he was prepared to publicly suppress his serious concerns about how the DUP under Peter Robinson had handled his allegations of bullying and physical intimidation by his then minister Jonathan Bell.
Mr Bell has rejected the allegations as being without foundation.
Mr Bell told the inquiry last week that he saw that as part of a DUP conspiracy to smear him, with Mr Cairns willing to change his story to “fit”.
But Mr Cairns insisted that was not what he was saying and the only issue under discussion was whether he criticised Mr Robinson or the party wanted him to refrain from doing so.
He said: “The huge question, I think, for Mr Robinson is if he did receive allegations or direct comment from other people in relation to Mr Bell’s behaviour, I suppose the question that if I was a journalist I would ask is why did Mr Robinson appoint Mr Bell to the position that he was in?
Later, Sir Patrick said: “If your experience is right, you had been the recipient of appalling treatment from Mr Bell, one way or the other. You knew that Mr Bell had a very deficient character in many ways and you felt that you could truthfully describe that.
Mr Cairns said he was prepared to do that, but the question had been “if the party are prepared to go along with me to do that”.
When asked by Sir Patrick “what if the party weren’t prepared to do that?”, Mr Cairns said “well, ultimately they weren’t, so I went with their line, Mr chairman”.
That unhappiness at how the party had dealt with allegations against Mr Bell stemmed from a series of incidents, including an explosive row with Mr Bell in London in June 2015, Mr Cairns accepted that it had been an “unsavoury incident” in which he had acted inappropriately in how he spoke to his minister.
However, he said that it had led to Mr Bell menacingly threatening to break his finger, similar to another incident when he said he thought Mr Bell might punch him.
Mr Bell fired him in London, he said, but that decision had been countermanded by Mr Johnston and several meetings took place after which Mr Robinson and Mr Johnston decided that he should continue as Mr Bell’s Spad after apologising to the minister.
Mr Cairns said that he had been dismayed that Mr Robinson took Mr Bell’s side and did not take sufficiently seriously the allegations which he was making and that after the events of the last 48 hours he felt under intense pressure and went to his doctor who advised him to take time off work, which he did.
He said that Mr Robinson was “very clear” that Mr Bell had denied trying to break his finger “and the weakness that he seemed to find in me was that I would admit guilt at an early opportunity; that seemed to be a weak thing from Mr Robinson’s perspective”.
Mr Bell said that he was ultimately given an ultimatum by Mr Johnston that he could either return to work for Mr Bell or stay on civil service sick leave for six months and then end his relationship with the party.
Dame Una O’Brien asked Mr Cairns if he wondered “why am I being treated like this”.
New rules are to be imposed to limit the number of cruise passengers visiting The Galapagos Islands in Ecuador.
Tour operators have until February 1 to incorporate the Galapagos National Park Authority’s new regulations, which are designed to protect the local animal and plant life, into travel programmes.
The rules will allow travellers to stay for a maximum of four nights and five days per ship, with a frequency of four landings within any 14-day period.
The archipelago’s 150,000 annual visitors have been mainly concentrated on the three islands of Isabela, Santa Cruz and San Cristobal for the past 14 years.
“The visitor redistribution that will be achieved by the opening up other islands, and altering route frequencies, will also reduce fuel consumption and the overall amount of pollution emitted by the yachts, boats and ships working the islands,” the Ecuador tourism ministry said.
The ports on Santa Fe and Tagus Cove will become accessible under the new regulations. The islands of Española, Genovesa and Fernandina will also permit the arrival of smaller boats, allowing visitors to see rare species like the red-footed booby, the albatross and the flightless cormorant, the ministry said.
The new regulations and the protection of nature go hand in hand with the concept of ‘conscious tourism,’ an idea developed by Ecuador.
“With ‘conscious tourism’ Ecuador is asking every visitor to experience the country in keeping with its nature and its people, underscoring the positive aspects of the relationship between host and tourist, while improving the lives of Ecuadorians through tourism experiences with their own cultural and natural heritage...
conducting an online poll to select the state's new license plate design. The options were unveiled at the State Fair on Friday. The deadline to vote is midnight on September 5.
"> conducting an online poll to select the state's new license plate design. The options were unveiled at the State Fair on Friday. The deadline to vote is midnight on September 5.
The BMVis conducting an online poll to select the state's new license plate design. The options were unveiled at the State Fair on Friday. The deadline to vote is midnight on September 5.
Major airlines went cashless in jet cabins several years ago. Now, airlines are going cashless at airport passenger terminals across the country.
Some airlines no longer accept cash as a form of payment – even at their ticket counters in airport passenger terminals.
That’s why Southwest Florida International Airport has installed new cash-to-card kiosks in the ticketing hall in the terminal’s second level.
Two of these self-service ReadyStation-brand kiosks are located across from the Frontier and WestJet ticket counters. A third kiosk is expected to be operational shortly.
Major airlines went cashless in jet cabins several years ago, equipping flight attendants with card readers for onboard purchases.
Now, carriers increasingly are going cashless at airport terminals across the country.
American Airlines already operates cashless at Southwest Florida International. JetBlue says it will be cashless in the future; Southwest is exploring the options.
It could be only a matter of time before all airlines here go cashless at RSW.
Airlines say going cashless speeds up check-ins.
Customers insert cash into the machine, which spits out a Visa debit card valued at the same dollar amount, minus a $5 issuance fee.
The machines at RSW accommodate speakers of English or Spanish.
“It was easy,” said Tania Marquez, who used the cash-to-card machine for the first time at the international airport on Tuesday before flying with brother Luis Marquez to Louisiana.
Under the service provider’s agreement with Lee County Port Authority, the port authority will get a 10 percent cut – 50 cents – for each card issued.
Due to anti-money laundering laws, the maximum card value is $1,000 – and the cards cannot be reloaded.
The debit card can be used for any fees charged at the airline ticket counter or for other charges as you travel, including purchases of onboard beverages and snacks.
It can be used after the flight away from the airport – anywhere a Visa prepaid debit card is accepted as payment.
Although many of us are willing and able to use our existing credit or debit cards to pay for tickets, baggage fees, etc. at airline counters, other passengers remain cash-reliant.
For example, although a majority of older Americans own a credit card, just 33 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 said they have one, according to a 2016 Market Pulse survey by Bankrate.
A TD Bank survey that same year found that millennials tend to use cash, a debit card and checks more often than the average consumer.
As I have read over the various qualifications of the various candidates for Breck council, one factor stands out. All aspiring hopefuls have friends and family that are offering their support. But who is the most qualified to lead our town into the future?
2009 Summit’s Association Realtor “Realtor of the Year”.
Current president- Breck Town Square Mall Owners Association.
Thus with 18 years of planning commission experience, he is more than qualified to participate in the decision making process of our city council.
Whenever there was a demand for a decision to be made, or a judgment to be offered, Rodney has proven over and over again that he is talented, proficient and capable. In our 14 years of association, he has proven his abilities time and time again.
On his website, he has a taken a stand on the immediate and pressing issues: housing, land use, sales taxes, and the direction for the Breck Resort Chamber. Perhaps take a look and see if you agree with his approach.
The important decision of town councilor should not be left to only friends and families. Please take the time to visit the website (www.RodneyAllen.com).
You owe it to Yourself, your family and the town.
Los Angeles is at a developmental crossroads, growing out of its callow youth as the capital of car culture and suburban sprawl and coming into its maturity as — well, as something else. What exactly that will be depends in large part on who guides its development. Will it be a place with more crippling congestion, or ...
It's impossible to know for sure, of course. But there's a way to hedge our bets by electing city leaders who believe wholeheartedly in a more sustainable type of growth. For Council District 1 voters, that means picking Joe Bray-Ali for City Council on March 7. Developers and investment are already transforming some o...
Many people in the district think of Bray-Ali, 37, as just a bike-shop owner and bike activist. Frustration over Cedillo's part in stalling bike lanes on Figueroa Street propelled Bray-Ali into this race. But though he may be campaigning atop two wheels, he has educated himself way beyond bike and transit issues. In fa...
Bray-Ali, a small business owner and community activist who lives in Lincoln Heights, would best lead this district and the city into a better future.
It is no small thing to depose a sitting councilman, and Cedillo has a big fundraising advantage due in part to support from developers. But the personable Bray-Ali, whose father was an aide to a number of local Latino officials, is not a neophyte to City Hall or local politics. He has been involved in community issues...
Cedillo has a reputation among community activists as someone hell-bent on helping developers build market-rate housing while paying little regard for the more prosaic concerns of the neighborhoods. This disinterest in the community is troubling; even more so is his indifference to the displacement of low-income consti...
There are two other candidates in the race: Jesse Rosas, a small businessman with deep community connections but no clear plan, and Giovany Hernandez, a young charter school parent organizer from Westlake who grew up in Pico-Union. Hernandez is someone worth watching in future races. He has an impressive grasp of local...
Cedillo hasn't been a bad councilman, nor a particularly good one. Had he done more on the council's housing and land use committees to build affordable housing, expedite new community plans and close loopholes used to evict low-income tenants, it's possible that anger over development in Los Angeles wouldn't have boil...
The winner of this race will have an extra long term (the recent change in city elections means the winner will hold office for 5½ years) during a building boom that could fundamentally change the district. It is imperative that the person making the decisions focus on the needs of the community, not just a personal vi...
4/27: Due to new information, The Times has rescinded this endorsement of Joe Bray-Ali.
The interactive exhibit shows all aspects of space travel to the moon. It also examines unanswered questions of existence and the potential of future space exploration to provide answers.
"It really has something for all ages. It's intended to be fun and exceptionally interactive and certainly educational but really designed to not look at just today but our future and where do we anticipate going because that's really what it's all about," Jim Kidrick of SDASM said.
“Space: A Journey To Our Future” allows participants to explore a Lunar Base Camp including bunk beds and a kitchen, experience the physiological challenges of space flight, touch actual Moon meteorites and Mars rocks, see artifacts from the space program up close, and learn about future exploration of the universe in ...
In additional to this special exhibit, the museum’s regular collection will be on display for visitors.
Now is the time to visit this special exhibit because February is Museum Month in San Diego.
Simply pick up a free Museum Month pass at any Macy’s in San Diego County, Temecula, or El Centro. The pass entitles its holder to half price admission at 40 participating museums throughout the county, including SDASM.

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